Islanders Game 74: Running on Fumes, Tampa in Town; Lines & How to Watch

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — The New York Islanders have very quickly fallen from playoff contention to the brink of virtual elimination. They’ve lost five straight games (0-3-2) and are a heavy home underdog against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight.

Yes, those same Bolts who stormed out to a 4-0 lead, then weathered an Islanders comeback bid en route to a 5-3 victory. Nikita Kucherov recorded four points in the win despite his late-game shenanigans that stole some headlines. Kucherov has also scored in four straight games and has amassed 11 points in his last three games. Talk about a man on fire.

A regulation loss for the Islanders cuts their already slim 8.5% playoff chance down to 4.2%. There’s no more room for error. Last year, the Islanders went on an 8-0-1 run to snatch a playoff berth. Can they recreate that magic? Time will only tell.

In net, Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to tend the net for the Lightning. He was scheduled to start Saturday’s matinee but was scratched at the last minute for Jonas Johansson. The Islanders will start Ilya Sorokin against the Bolts again after Marcus Hogberg struggled Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The lineups stay virtually unchanged from Saturday’s contest. The puck drops just after 7:30 inside UBS Arena.

Islanders Lines:

Anders Lee – Bo Horvat – Kyle Palmieri

Simon Holmstrom – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Anthony Duclair

Pierre Engvall – Casey Cizikas – Hudson Fasching

Maxim Tsyplakov – Kyle MacLean – Marc Gatcomb

Defense & Goalie

Adam Pelech – Anthony DeAngelo

Alexander Romanov – Noah Dobson

Ryan Pulock – Adam Boqvist

Ilya Sorokin

Lightning Projected Lines:

Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov

Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Nicholas Paul

Oliver Bjorkstrand – Yanni Gourde – Gage Goncalves

Cam Atkinson – Zemgus Girgensons – Mitchell Chafee

Defense & Goalie

Victor Hedman – J.J. Moser

Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak

Emil Lilleberg – Nick Perbix

Andrei Vasilevskiy

How to Watch:

TV: ESPN+, Hulu, Disney+ Exclusive game

Radio: 88.7 WRHU